|
Over the years from various sources, we have compiled a lot of helpful
information. Here are the weekly tips first found in our newsletters,
along with plants and products that we have spotlighted. We include
practices developed here at The Natural Gardener and by other gardening
experts.
March
2005
Fertilize Your Lawn.
It's time to fertilize your lawn, and Lady Bug Natural Brand 8-2-4 is the best fertilizer for the job! In a recent study done by Texas A&M for the City of Austin's Grow Green Program, Lady Bug 8-2-4 was proven as most effective and as non-polluting! This organic fertilizer provides everything needed to grow healthy lawns, gardens, trees, shrubs, and everything green in your landscape. It is applied at a rate of 35# for 5,600 square feet for a healthy lawn. For those of you who have been on an organic, soil-building program for several years, use Lady Bug 8-2-4 at a rate of 35# per 11,200 square feet. Following an organic program builds healthy soil to grow healthier plants. When you are in our store, ask for our "Organic Lawn Care Guide," with information on how to care for your lawn throughout the year.
Time to Plant.
The cold should be behind us now, so it's time to PLANT! Come to the Natural Gardener and pick out your favorite plants. When you plant, add some soft rock phosphate or bone meal around the root zone to give a boost to the root development. Water-in with seaweed to help the plant cope with the stress of transplanting. Add fertilizer and mulch as needed. Be sure to keep a close eye on watering until the plant is established. If you have questions about the requirements of a certain plant, ask a staff member for help.
Time to clean up the garden.
It is finally time to clean up the garden and make it ready for spring blooms and summer plants. Remove all the dead leaves and foliage that can harbor disease and pests. Pull out any weeds - it is a breeze with all this moisture we have been receiving. Prune back perennial plants, so they come back strong and full, not leggy. If you have questions on how a particular plant should be cut back, ask a nursery worker while you are here at The Natural Gardener picking out some new favorites for your garden.
Brown Patch.
Cool, moist conditions create the perfect environment for brown patch fungus in the lawn. If you are seeing those tell-tale brown circles in your yard, Garlic GP Lawn & Turf Fungicide is prescibed. Actinovate is a wonderful product for building a healthy lawn and protecting it from invading fungal diseases. Compost top-dressing, spraying with compost tea, and applying cornmeal also aid in prevention by building up the beneficial micoorganism population in the soil. Come into our store, pick up one of our brown patch guides, and talk with one of our staff members to learn the best way to treat your yard.
2004
Good Old-Fashioned Gardening Tools
In this world of technology and fast pace changes (this week I really
want to get as far away from this as possible!), it is nice to know
that some things have stayed the same for generations and are not going
to evolve too much in the future. I am talking about the simple tools
of gardening. The spade, shovel, fork, hoe, etc. The materials that
made these tools quality in your grandparents tool shed are still what
you look for in buying a quality garden tool today. Hand Forge steel
and straight strong wood handles are still the best you can get for
your garden. It is a pleasure to pick up a quality tool and get digging
in the summer each year. But, quality does cost a little more so it
is best to keep your tools in the best shape possible. Take the time
to tune-up your garden tools. Large tools can have rust removed with
steel wool. Shovels can be sharpened with a whetstone or sharpening
stone. Be sure to bring tools under cover to protect them from rain,
sun, dew, and other weather elements. For pruners and clippers remove
rust with steel wool, oil joints with mineral oil or other oil and sharpen
blades with a sharpening stone. We sell many of the replacement parts
for the Felco pruners. If your tools are not worth refurbishing or repairing,
come on in, we have a great selection. A high quality tool like a felco
pruner or Clarington Forge spade will last to be handed down to future
generations with proper care.
Add Fertility When Planting
Add Fertility when Planting - Plants that are grown at a nursery have
been well feed. You want to continue to provide food when planting to
help avoid transplant shock. A small handful of bone meal or rock phosphate
under veggies and annuals will give them a great start. Mix some Lady
Bug 8-2-4 or other natural fertilizer in with the backfill for perennials,
trees and shrubs. Tomatoes can use some Rabbit Hill Tomato starter (instead
of the bone meal or rock phosphate) or Tomato & Pepper Food and
annuals will enjoy Rabbit Hill’s Buds and blooms.
Fire Ant Control
Fire ant control. People come in and ask what they can do about their
fire ants especially as the mounds popup with the rain we have had.
Well, that depends on the situation - there are several effective methods
that will deal with these pesky ants.
Beneficial nematodes. These are a microscopic organism that eat the
larvae of the fire ant (also fleas and grubs!) They can be used anywhere
that gets supplemental water in the summer - no fields or natural areas.
Bags come in two sizes: coverage for 8,000 sq. ft. or 15,000 sq ft.
It is usually applied with a hose end sprayer and must be kept cool,
i.e. in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it
Orange oil products are used for and occasional flare. Straight Orange
Oil or Erath Earth’s Compost Tea (NOT the same as the Compost Tea
we brew.) are some of the products we carry. To apply this, stir up
the mound and drench area. It needs to contact the ants to kill them.
Molasses found in Erath Earth’s Compost Tea will also deter the
ants from the area.
Pull Out Old Plants
We are getting a bunch of questions about bugs on cabbage, broccoli,
turnips and other cool weather veggies. Nature is telling us something.
It is time to move onto the next season. The bugs will attack plants
that are stressing and these plants are at the end of their life cycle
and are often stressed. It is time to cull through these crops deciding
whether to treat the plant and allow it to continue to grow (see info
under product of the week), harvest what you can or pull the plant and
compost it. The plants are ready to put out seed and unless you are
harvesting the seed you might as well pull it give yourself room for
those great summer veggies.
2003
Get you gardening tools ready.
Get your gardening equipment in shape. Take the time to tune-up your
garden tools. Large tools can have rust removed with steel wool. Shovels
can be sharpened with a whetstone or sharpening stone. Be sure to bring
tools under cover to protect them from rain, sun, dew, and other weather
elements. For pruners and clippers remove rust with steel wool, oil
joints with mineral oil or other oil and sharpen blades with a sharpening
stone. We sell many of the replacement parts for the Felco pruners.
If your tools are not worth refurbishing or repairing, come on in, we
have a great selection.
Help Plants Recover from Freezing Weather
Plants need help to recover from extreme weather such as last week’s
ice storm. One fantastic product to use is Superthrive. Superthrive
is a very concentrated liquid product packed with vitamins and hormones.
These will help re-establish a good root system on plants that were
damaged by the freeze. Superthrive is also very good to help prevent
transplant shock and quickly establish a healthy plant.
How to Plant the Perfect Tomato (aka "This is How I Plant my
Tomatoes")
Everyone agreed you need to plant the tomatoes deep - pinch off lower
leaves and plant the tomatoes roots and part of stem so there is only
a small portion of the tomato showing with leaves. If the tomato is
leggy you can dig a trench and lay the stem along the trench and gently
bury slightly bending the top up to get the proper amount of leaves
above the soil. Roots develop all along a tomato’s stem.
Here's what our staff does to get grow their own tomatoes:
Joanna - Mix rock phosphate, Rabbit Hill Farm’s Mineral Plus and
Rabbit Hill Farms Tomato & Pepper food in the hole and backfill.
Alternate weekly spraying of seaweed and fish emulsion.
Karibou - Plant with Rabbit Hill Farms Tomato & Pepper food. Keep
an eye out throughout the growing season for any signs of pest, disease
or stress so it may be controlled quickly and easily.
Roger - Rabbit Hill Farms Tomato & Pepper Food mixed in with the
soil and biozome placed in the hole with the root ball. When fruit starts
to set side dress with turkey compost or cottonseed meal. Mulch with
pine straw.
Jacob - Plant with cottonseed meal, top dress occasionally and mulch.
Nancy - Mix in compost and mulch top. Spray weekly with seaweed, every
3-4 weeks with John’s Recipe. Protect plants from cold winds and
bugs by covering the frame with row cover.
Rosina - Mix in up to 40% compost. Plant with Rabbit Hill Farms Buds
& Blooms. Water in with seaweed. Spray as often as I can remember
(about every two weeks) with seaweed in the early morning (best) or
the evening. Side dress with Rabbit Hill Farms Buds & Bloom in about
6-8 weeks.
Craig - Mix cottonseed meal, fish meal and kelp meal in backfill. Add
rock phosphate to hole before setting in plant. Cage and mulch - one
year I put down soaker hose, covered with weed cloth (typar) and then
mulched well. Only had to water once a week - it was so easy it took
the adventure out. Smokers need to wash their hands before working with
their tomatoes or they may transfer the mosaic virus. This year I am
trying powdered milk added to the hole when planting - this is supposed
to boost the tomato’s resistance to mildew and the like.
Colleen - Make sure the garden soil has plenty of compost mixed in.
Be sure to cage early with big sturdy cages.
Jenny - Changes every year. This year planting with Rabbit Hill Earthworm
Castings (1 cup), Rock Phosphate (1/3 cup), Diatomaceous Earth (1/4
cup) and Epsom Salts (1 tbs). Jay Murtz of Rabbit Hill Farms suggested
this. I am also trying Spray & Grow - which is a mixture of micronutrients
and trace minerals (Iron & Zinc) along with John’s Recipe if
I remember every couple of weeks in the morning.
Add Fertility When Planting
Plants that are grown in pots have been well feed. You want to continue
to provide food when planting to help avoid transplant shock. A small
handful of bone meal or rock phosphate under veggies and annuals will
give them a great start. Mix some Lady Bug 8-2-4 or other natural fertilizer
in with the backfill for perennials, trees and shrubs.
Quality Tools
Buy good quality tools that will save you time, your body, and money
over the long run. If you move a lot of mulch, a pitchfork is the best
tool. For digging new beds or refreshing beds with compost, a garden
fork is great. Sharp shooter shovel or drain spade is great for digging
holes. For people with caliche, a rock bar is a must. Diamond, half
moon, or an oscillating hoe will make weeding in beds or granite walkways
a breeze. A weed popper is for getting out dandelion and other broad-leaf
weeds without bending over. And, remember to take care of your tools
by cleaning and keeping them out of the weather.
See our March To-Do List
See our March Articles: Reflections
on Life and Organic Gardening
|
8648
Old Bee Cave Road
